Hyperdimension Neptunia: the Flame Guardianes
by nb1224
Summary: After being rescued by a hired mercenary, Nepgear finds herself helping a mysterious group of specialize agents called the Flame Guardianes, but soon learns that their quest involves more than just saving her and the other CPUs... Rated T for occasional cursing
1. Chapter 1

**Hyperdimension Neptunia: the **_**Flame Guardianes**_

**This is my first fanfic… hope you enjoy! **

**I own nothing except the Flame Guardianes, which is spelled wrong on purpose, and random human villains. (And my OC...)**

**Chapter 1:**

**The beginning of the end**

When Nepgear regained consciousness, the first thing she noticed was that it was dark. REALLY dark, she could only see about 3 feet in front of her, and that was really all she needed to see. The second thing she noticed was she had no idea where she was. Third thing? She couldn't move. Not like a "too tired to move" thing. She was tied up. Almost instantly panicking, she thought:

"Okay Nepgear, get ahold of yourself, just think about this… help will arrive, right? Right?"

To pass the time, every minute felt like an hour, Nepgear thought back to where this all started…

* * *

Twelve hours ago…

Location: Virtua Forest

Province: Planeptune

Time: Roughly Noon

Mission: Defeat the Monsters that have recently spawned… or at least, that's what was supposed to happen…

"Haah! Is that all you got? I thought you could take us on!? Well we're winning ya'know!"

The mission, which was simple enough, had turned into a hellish battle with Arfore and an Ancient Dragon. The first to fall was, surprisingly, Noire, who was knocked out by a backhand from the Ancient Dragon. Next was Blanc, whose attack was blocked by Arfore, and rebounded into her. Then, with only Neptune and Vert left, the Ancient Dragon was defeated by the duo. However, there was no time to celebrate. Vert raised her arm to throw her spear at Arfore, when chain seized the four CPUs, even those who were defeated.

"What is this!?" Vert exclaimed

"It seems that even with my help, you still would have lost, Arfore." This voice was unknown to both Vert and Neptune, both chained and apprehended.

"Tch! Well don't forget that _I_ was the one to bring you back from that world! I didn't even _NEED_ your help!" Arfore retorted. The figure that the voice belonged to stepped out of the shadows, just enough to reveal the scythe that the figure held.

"Who… who ARE you?" Neptune asked. The only reply from the figure was

"SILENCE WHELP! I WILL NOT ANWSER TO SUCH FILTH!" The figure froze, regaining their composure, then sighed. "Just take care of them, Arfore, I have business to attend to."

"Fine" Arfore replied, turning her gaze to the chained Goddesses.

"Well then," Arfore chuckled, "Let's begin". Taking an Anticrystal from her pocket, and tossing it above Neptune's head, the crystal hovered for a second, then the three that Warechu had snuck beneath them created an Anticrystal Barrier.

"Not again…" Vert sighed looking at the floor, now blackening below her. "So the countdown begins"

"Exactly" Arfore said. "Now enjoy!" Cackling loudly at her achievement, Arfore didn't even notice the help that had arrived for the four CPUs, all now conscious, and now terrified.

"Release them at once!" Neptune, Noire, Vert, Blanc, and Arfore Looked up to see the reinforcements. Nepgear, Uni, Rom and Ram, in CPU form charging towards the horrifying scene in front of them.

"Nepgear!" Neptune Yelled, somewhat nervous. "Get out of here! It's too-"Neptune was cut off when Uni, Rom, and Ram were shot out the sky by three more figures, dressed in black suits, and hats that covered their faces, concealing their eyes, and Nepgear dodging the shot fired at her.

"Uni!" Noire screamed, tears pouring from her eyes.

"Rom! Ram! You! Th'hell!? Who even are you!?" Blanc screamed, glaring at the three figures. She was met with a hand in a 'stop' position, and the tallest of the figures saying coolly:

"Now now, isn't it rude for a lady to curse? Heh, you'll be interesting."

"What do you mean, 'Interesting'?" Neptune asked, confused.

"I mean" the figure replied, "WE are salesmen, and we struck a deal with Arfore here, to, well, you can fill in the blank."

"Salesmen!? More like slave traders! You think you can sell us like objects!? What are your true intentions!?" Noire shouted, enraged.

"Please, we aren't slave traders, for we are too kind to do such a thing." The shortest figure, who was about three inches shorter than the tallest, replied.

"Then what are you?" Vert retorted.

"We are just the middle men. Nothing more" the third figure, the fattest of them, yet he was still quite thin, replied with a chuckle.

All of the chaotic arguing was broken by a single voice, one that would turn the tide of this situation. Nepgear's. "Stop! Let them go!" She cried out, hoping for something to happen, instead, she got:

"Well then, perhaps _you_ would like to take their place? Not in the Anticrystal barrier, I'm asking if you would like to come with us instead of those four?" the tallest "Salesman" said. Sighing, Nepgear replied,

"With you to where? You must have some destination, right?" In her mind, Nepgear thought: "_Goodness, what if they take me to some research facility? I could get studied, or maybe tortured, or… or… they won't let Nep and the others go… but what should I do?_" Replying to her thoughts, which were evident on her troubled expression, one salesman said:

"Perhaps if we let them go, you will go instead? We'll even let you say goodbye. How's that?" Before Nepgear had a chance to respond, the glow of the four Goddesses being reverted back to their human forms, due to the anticrystal field.

"Time's running out brat, make your mind up so I can just get paid and get out of here?" Arfore snarked. Nepgear, out of options, and out of time replied with tears in her eyes:

"O-ok… please, just let them go… please." Nepgear started to cry as she fell to her knees, self-defeated. Somehow, the businessmen caught on to her lack of morale and said, rather snappy:

"Arfore, do as she says. If you don't, we won't pay you."

"UGH! Fine" Arfore snapped, pulling out a small device, pushed a button on it, and the Anticrystal field dissipated, leaving four chained CPU's in its wake. Before long, the chains were broken, and a sobbing Nepgear tied by the wrists to a long rope, held by the shortest salesman.

"Please, just… run" a crying Nepgear pleaded to the Goddesses. "I will come back, trust me, just please run" After the salesman handed Arfore a briefcase full of credits, they did the unexpected.

They put bags over the goddesses' heads.

"What the…" Neptune yelped, startled.

"Hey! You promised to let us go! SO LET US GO!" Blanc screamed.

"Ahhh yes, well we were paid by our client to take the four Goddesses, not their little sister. But hey, she won't be experimented on, so there's a plus" the chubby salesman chuckled.

"NO! STOP! YOU PROMISED! LET THEM GO!" Nepgear shouted.

At this point, Nepgear had a bag put over her head, which had chloroform gas in it, causing her to lose consciousness.

Unknown to all, IF and Compa watched the scene unfold, Nepgear loaded into a black, windowless van, and the four Goddesses into a small moving van, and they drove off.

"Damn… we need to get the remaining CPU candidates, and get back to the Basilicom, Histoire will know what to do." IF whispered.

"Yeah" Compa whispered, shaking, "But what will need to be done, Iffy?"

"I don't know Compa, I just hope this won't be too… extravagant, know what I'm saying?"

* * *

Snapping back to reality due to the lights being turned on, Nepgear's eyes had to adjust to the light, yup. She was in a concrete basement, or, at least, one room of a basement.

"Afternoon girlie, enjoy your beauty sleep? Heh heh heh" This voice shocked Nepgear, she didn't know or even recognize this voice.

"Oh goodness, who are you?" Nepgear asked, caught off guard. "W-where am I? Why am I here?" Overflowing with questions, her thoughts were silenced by another voice:

"Enough Sakishima, we all know what you're up to, leave the poor girl for a bit longer. But not much longer, in two days those nerds will have our machine ready, and her power will be ours!" This voice came off as rugged, dark, and somewhat old. It was authoritative the way he spoke to Sakishima, who snapped back:

"Shaddap boss! I wasn't thinkin' anything! Swear! Just wanted to give the little lady a proper welcome, considering she's been out for twelve hours." Nepgear was on the verge of tears, she was scared, confused, and still had no idea where she was, yet she knew this wasn't as good of a situation as she thought. Having no other words left, she said, rather meekly:

"P-please untie me… I-I don't know what's going on, who are you people? Where am I? Why did those men kidnap my sister? What's happening!?" Her words were met with a swift backhand, followed by a piercing glare. After what felt like an hour, yet it only had been a few seconds, the door to the room creaked open, and a young man wearing a white lab coat, which was stained with blood, and breathing heavily, his left hand covering what looked like a wound in his abdomen.

"Wer-we're under attack! *pant* *pant* he's… after the girl…" he breathed before collapsing face first onto the ground, dead.

"Aw shiiiiiiii…" Sakishima said, his words cut off by the sight of a lone figure down the hallway. Reaching for his hip, Sakishima pulled a pistol out of its holster, and fired two shots down the hall. His two shots were met with one. Through his skull. The older man seized a 2x4, and swung it down on Nepgear's head.

"Don't move, girl" he snapped at Nepgear, whose vision was failing before she heard a shout.

"Crescent Slash!"

The old man fell, defeated, the lone figure rushed to Nepgear, catching her head before her senses faded.

* * *

**Whew… that took longer than I thought…**

**Oh well, hope you enjoyed this story! There will be more chapters in the future! I promise!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hyperdimension Neptunia: the **_**Flame Guardianes**_

**This chapter is literally the last one, except from my OC's perspective, other than that, the plot is the same**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

**The End of the Beginning**

"So… let me get this straight…" The figure was a tall man, around 6 foot 5, a large build, who wore a white short sleeved shirt, a bulletproof vest, light chromium armor, which is three times lighter and three times stronger than steel, blue jeans, for the moment. On his waist was a sword, which was sheathed, and on his left hip was a pistol in its holster, and his shoes were running shoes, which were modded to have steel toes. He stroked his poorly groomed beard while repeating his mission, which he had been called to take.

"You want me, and my men, to go into this dimension, rescue this 'Nepgear' girl, AND save the four CPUs, who are most likely here, in this highly guarded government research facility, AND bring them all home before anyone knows they're gone… right?"

"Yes, I do understand it was a lot to call you on, and on such short notice, but these girls are vital to this world, as I am sure you know." Histore replied calmly. It amazed him at first, a fairy girl, floating on a book, somehow being able to not only know who he was, but his phone number, AND that he was a mercenary. The odds were extraordinarily low. He himself was also astonished with himself, keeping his composure even when confronted with this. _I REALLY need to stop travelling between dimensions… _he thought while staring at the foot-tall girl in front of him _it's bad for my health. _

"I think you get it. Without the goddesses…" IF said, IF was an interesting character to be certain, she works in the guild, is best friends with a goddess, and is apparently his age… unbelievable. "The world will just fall into ruin…"

"Poor Nep-Nep…" Compa whimpered. Compa was surprisingly a lot braver than she let on, and stronger than she looks, too. "She is probably being poked with big, scary needles…"

"You're one to talk, Ms. Nurse." IF said back. At this point, the mercenary got it.

"I'll do it." He said.

"Really? That'll be a huge help, considering the other CPU candidates are still…" Histore began, but was quickly cut off by the merc.

"The soonest I can get back is one week. My ship's interdimensional travel system takes that long to recharge. I should be back by then, if not, that means I died. And I'm lowering the price, 300 credits will suffice for supplies, then I'll be on my way. Do we have an accord?"

"Deal" IF said, speaking for Histore. After the 300 credits were handed over, the man left, saying as he was "escorted" to the door:

"In any case, it seems that your hands are tied here, but…" he quickly turned around, stopping to talk to the trio gathered before him.

"I would like it if either Compa or IF to come along, a familiar face will help swaying them to help me." IF and Compa refused, IF stating:

"we basically have to help here, I have to fill in lady Vert's place in Leanbox, as they don't have a CPU or CPU candidate, and Compa has to help out here in Planeptune, sorry."

"By the way, mister… uh… mister… er… what's your name?" Compa asked.

"Just call me 'Ranger'" he replied.

"Oh, ok Mister Ranger, do you know where Ge-Ge is? We know the location of the goddesses, but where is she?"

"Those 'Salesmen' from earlier were actually members of the mafia back in the other dimension, so I know where she most likely is, shouldn't be much of a hunt." Ranger replied, confidently. After a short moment, his face fell, and asked:

"Have any of you seen a girl in a black dress, heels, with horns on her head? Maybe holding a scythe? Maybe?

"Can she summon chains from thin air?" IF asked. Ranger's face shot up and his eyes locked onto IF as he quickly answered:

"Yes! How in the world did you know?"

"We saw her, she was helping Arfore defeat the Goddesses. But after Nepgear and the others showed up, she just vanished…" IF said. Ranger then got a call, and after answering it, said:

"I gotta go, listen, if you see her, run like hell. She's too dangerous to fight, even if we did restrain her power, she's still WAY too strong. Report any sightings of her to me immediately after the encounter, got it?" the three nodded.

"Good", he said. "Now, if you'll excuse me…" stepping onto the elevator, he said:

"Good luck. You'll need it." And disappeared down the tower that was Planeptune's Basilicom.

"I hope he can rescue Ge-Ge and the others in time…" Compa said.

"Yeah… but who is he? We got a codename, not a first and last name… I still hope we can trust him…" IF replied.

"Well, we can only hope so, now IF, it is best you head for Leanbox immediately." Histore said. So IF got in the elevator and went down, leaving science in her wake.

* * *

Back on the ship, Ranger and his group, the _Flame Guardianes_, were preparing to travel between dimensions.

"Are all systems go?" He asked the pilot, standing in the large cockpit, watching their flight plan mapped out by the computer.

"Yup. Everything's good, shall we take off, boss?" the pilot asked, looking back.

"Go, and while you're at it, give me the ship's intercom." Ranger replied, and was handed the walkie-talkie-like device that transmitted across the entire ship, which was much like a plane, except it was a VTOL, was 300 meters long, and held over 20,000,000 pounds in ammo. Not including the surplus of weapons, and the multitude of soldiers that now called the ship, named the _Swifte Flame_, home.

Speaking into the intercom, Ranger commanded: "all troops, we are about to take off, make sure that all doors are closed, all sinks off, and all toilet seats down (Hana gets REALLY pissy if you don't) and prepare to go home!"

The ship blasted off, passing by Planeptune's Basilicom on the way to the sky, before opening a portal to this other dimension that Nepgear was taken to. Leaving no trace of the _Swifte Flame_ at all. Not even the echo of the powerful jets could be heard.

After travelling to their home dimension, the _Flame Guardianes_ made their way to the Japanese island of Nagasaki, to rescue Nepgear from the mafia that had her in captivity.

"All right, we're here" Ranger said, looking out of the _Swifte Flame_'s cargo bay door, at the ruined house below. The house itself wasn't anything, just a pile of rubble left from when the US dropped the atomic bomb there. The radiation had cleared, but no one moved in. mostly because the basement was where the mafia's base was.

"You sure they've got her there?" Hana asked, looking quite skeptical. Hana was a young girl, and was 21 years old. Her pink hair was waist length, and at the moment, was done up in a ponytail. She wore a black stealth suit, with a bandolier strap filled with her ranged weapon: throwing knives, and on the backs of her hips were two twin daggers, with a button to convert the blade into a shortsword, in sheaths.

"Positive, hey, while I'm in there, hack into that facility's data base, and look up all recent additions. Especially look up SPR, and within 48 hours. I can take this alone, so be quick, so be quick, you hear?" Ranger replied, preparing to make the jump to the ground below.

"Ok, please be careful, k?" Hana asked, turning back into the ship's interior.

Ranger dropping onto the ground below, pulled out his blade, and walked into the mafia's base.

* * *

Inside the base wasn't too hard, just a bunch of hired scientists wearing white lab coats building some kind of machine, they were also unarmed. An advantage Ranger had right off the bat.

After killing them all, he moved throughout the facility, checking every room. Most were empty, some had people in them, which he quickly shot with his .45 caliber magnum pistol. Finally, he came to a long hall, with an open door at the other end. Before he had the chance to go down the hall, some thug with a .44 Magnum revolver appeared in the hall, fired two shots, both missing, and then Ranger fired one shot. One perfect headshot. Putting the pistol back into its holster, as it had no ammo, drew his blade, and charged down the hall. When he was about halfway there, an old, wizened man appeared in the hall wielding a 2x4, and charged. Readying his blade, Ranger shouted out the name of his special move:

"Crescent Slash!" and his blade went straight through the thug. Turning to his left, Ranger saw a girl, who was tied up, but more importantly…

She was Nepgear, and her head, which looked injured, began to fall to the ground. Rushing forward, Ranger caught her head as it fell, leaving an unconscious Nepgear in his hands. Quickly cutting her bonds, Ranger made his way to the stairs up, speaking into his communicator:

"I've got her, drop the cargo net, and get ready to head to L.A."

* * *

**Whew… that took forever**

**Alright, next chapter we get to see things through Nepgear's eyes again. So see you then!**

**Also, **_**Swifte Flame**_** has that e in there on purpose.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hyperdimension Neptunia: The **_**Flame Guardianes**_

**Third chapter… wow.**

**Ranger and Hana are my OCs, so don't steal them!**

* * *

**Chapter 3:**

**The **_**Flame Guardianes **_**and Nepgear**

Nepgear awoke with a start. Waking up yet again in yet another unknown place, this time, however, she wasn't tied up, and her head was bandaged, and laying down in a bed that seemed like the kind that you would find in a hospital. "_What the goodness!? I thought that I was kidnapped, but if that's the case… I wouldn't be here. But who in the world brought me here? And why? Why would they…?" _Nepgear thought. But her thoughts were interrupted a new voice. One she wasn't familiar with.

"You're up. Good, that thug's board did a number on your head, so I'm relieved that you're up. You ok?" the man standing in front of her was tall, wore a white t-shirt, jeans, and running shoes. He also wore a bulletproof vest, which sported several individual bullets, clips, even very small guns. Four to be exact. He came off as rough, yet he seemed concerned for her health. With no other words left, Nepgear asked, stuttering,

"W-who are you? W-where are we? Why do you look like a soldier? Why do I look like I'm in the emergency room? WHAT'S HAPPENING!?"

Her words were met with a harsh "SHHHHH!" and the man followed up with,

"Relax. I understand your confusion, ok? Listen to me, I was hired by Histore and the others to save you and the goddesses. As for my name, you can just call me Ranger. And as for where you are, well…" He turned to the window, and paused. After what felt like forever, he pulled the curtains back, revealing a blue sky, a thin cloud barrier below, and what looked like… wait… clouds… BELOW THEM!?

"What the goodness! How are there clouds below us?! What even is this place!?" Nepgear shouted. The response from Ranger was a slight chuckle, followed by,

"This dimension is not yours, it's mine. And Nepgear," he began. "Welcome aboard the pride of my squad, the _Flame Guardianes_, The _Swifte Flame_!" Confused, Nepgear asked,

"_Swifte Flame_? _Flame Guardianes?_ What?" she sat up, and instantly her head felt like it just slammed into a brick wall. Grabbing the area of her head where the bandages were, Nepgear clutched the throbbing pain for a long moment, the pain finally subsiding.

"Yeah, I thought that might happen. Like I said, that plank did a number on your skull. Its fine, just a massive bump. Let me tell ya, it wasn't pretty. It should recover by tomorrow." Ranger said, immediately after, a speaker in the room's ceiling clicked on, with a voice calling:

"Ranger, this is Hana. I think you should come to the bridge. I've made a HUGE find. Bring that Nepge… whatever her name is, and get down here!" The voice, evidently belonging to this "Hana" girl sounded urgent. Sighing, Ranger replied,

"Coming…" Turning towards Nepgear, he said,

"Come on, I think you'll like this." Nepgear nodded, then stood up.

To her astonishment, she was wearing her normal clothes, and had all of her equipment as when she was captured… but why? Not deciding to question it, Nepgear followed Ranger through the maze of halls, rooms, finally making their way to the bridge. Upon entering, the Bridge was a huge room, with screens mapping the ships' course, the engine status, even where on the ship had more weight. The real sight, though, was the hug screen showing a record of some facility about their "SPR" areas.

"SPR? What's that?" Nepgear asked.

"SPR stands for "Special Powers Research", it's a norm at this facility." The girl controlling the screen said. On it was 10 rooms, most of them being under high guard, some read: 'power not understood, subjects must not be allowed access to any of the facilities public rooms, and must be contained at all costs' some had camera feed, but only three had it. And it was just some person standing there, crying.

"No luck finding the room or rooms we need huh?" Ranger asked, looking at the list.

"Well, I've narrowed it down to ten rooms, all are recent entries within the past 48 hours, and they're all in the same wing, look here." The girl said. The map of the building showed a large segment of the building, which flashed red, and pointed out where each room on the list was.

"These rooms are the only ones." The girl began. "Sadly, this entire wing is under heavy guard. We really can't get in unnoticed." Ranger sighed, stating,

"Hana, you're smart. Find out when the guards change shifts, we'll go in then." Turning to Nepgear, he said,

"In the meantime, you need to learn how to shoot a gun. It'll go a long way where we're going." He began walking out of the room, leaving Nepgear to awkwardly stumble behind him, Hana adding,

"You have three days Nepgear… good luck"

* * *

After two days, the _Swifte Flame_ landed in Los Angles, California, to refuel the ship. Today was the day that the _Flame Guardianes_ would rescue the four CPUs from their containment. They had ten rooms to search, in one hour, one room being on the top floor, the others at the bottom floor.

"We'll start at the bottom" Ranger told the squad that was going in with them. "After that, we go to the top floor. If they have a badge, kill them. When approaching a room, look through the hatch in the door. That will tell you what's inside. If you see them, say "Rose found" into your coms. If you see all of them, say "The roses are in basket," and say the room number. We get in, retrieve them, get out, and get them home in time for supper, got it!? Good. Suit up, men, we've got two hours from here." The squad hurried away to the barracks, Nepgear following. She had been trained how to shoot a handgun, and a SMG, which was what she was assigned. During her training, Ranger had told her,

"A sword is only effective in a sword duel, where we're going, you'll need a gun." And that's exactly what she was going to do.

At the facility, Ranger, Nepgear, Hana, and the squad waited on the roof until the coast was clear. Descending through an air duct to the first floor, the hunt began. At first, nothing. Then after three rooms were crossed out of the list, several soldiers appeared out of the elevator, and started shooting at the squad.

"Get back! Get back! Nepgear, you ok? Men! Fire at will!" Ranger yelled out, causing a flurry of bullets and loud bangs to be unleased throughout the floor. The men who were on the squad had suppressors on their guns, so nobody heard their shots, and after killing the opposing troops, they cleared the rest of the floor. This went on until Ranger himself checked the last room. Inside was a Bird-man, not a CPU though…

"Damn, so close…"he muttered. "Men! Get into the elevator! Go to the top floor!" he commanded through his com. After everybody cramming into the elevator, it ascended to the top floor. Peering out, one member checked both ways, before whispering to the others,

"All clear! Which way, Hana?" Hana replying,

"Left, we have one minute, let's go!" and the squadron moved to the room, Nepgear checking inside. What she found, was more than she expected… The four CPUs were hooked up to some device, which ran several scans, and in the wake, Ranger kicked down the door. Then the alarm sounded.

"Damn it! Get the CPUs and their belongings and let's get the hell out of here!" Ranger yelled. Deactivating the device, and unhooking the unconscious goddesses, four men slung them over their shoulders, while the rest carried the bags of their belongings, and ran to the roof access ramp. Outside, the _Swifte Flame_ had dropped a panel from the bottom of the ship, this panel had a mesh net as a cushion, and the men hopped in, taking the CPUs with them. A flimsy ladder provided Ranger, Hana, and Nepgear with a means of returning to the ship. After climbing the ladder, the ship turned, and took off for the west coast. Towards their destination.

* * *

On the way back, the ship stopped in Hawaii to refuel, and took off again, within 12 hours, an announcement was made:

"Strap everything down. Prepare for interdimensional travel!" The entire ship hurriedly strapped themselves in chairs, the ship picking up speed to open the portal, just as the portal was about to open: the pilot shouted out:

"Sir, anomaly spotted! It's giving chase!" Sure enough, there was a fast-moving, small object headed straight for the ship. The back cameras showed what looked like a CPU, yet with yellow hair and claw gauntlets, of she knew how to use well, as she flew into the right wing, damaging it severely.

"Warp! Damn it, Warp!" ranger began shouting. At this point, the portal had opened, allowing the _Swifte Flame_ to go back to the other world of the CPUs.

"Do you think she followed us, Ranger?" Hana asked, looking back on their leader.

"Probably, but we've lost her. Let's get the CPUs back to their homes. And thank god we avoided a real disaster…" Ranger replied.

* * *

Nepgear had seen it all now. Sitting next to Neptune on her bed, Nepgear's mind went through everything that had happened when Neptune began to stir.

"Neptune? Sis? You ok?" Nepgear asked, waiting for her sister to respond.

"Nep…gear…" Neptune croaked. Realizing how badly damaged her sister's vocal cords were, Nepgear quickly said,

"Shh shh shhhhh… you're ok sis. You're ok." But was met with

"N..no. Listen, Nep Jr., they… are looking for something…and they think you have something…and they want it…" Meanwhile, unknown to the both of them, Ranger walked into the room, saying:

"You're not wrong, Neptune. Nepgear, you may want to sit…oh, you are, g-good." He began.

"I think it's time you learned what our true mission is… why I truly took the job to save you…"

* * *

**Dun Dun Dunnnnnnnn!**

**Leaving it as a cliffhanger for now**

**See you in the next chapter!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hyperdimension Neptunia: the **_**Flame Guardianes**_

**A/N: Jeebus, it's been a while… Don't worry, I'm still chugging!**

**Chapter 4:**

**Eggplant warfare…**

* * *

Previously, on HDN: TFG…

"It's best you listen, I'm going to tell you why I'm REALLY here… what I'm actually after…"

* * *

Ranger's story seemed… farfetched… at best. Nepgear had a hard time believing anything that came out of his mouth, yet he made it sound as if it was the truth.

"Basically, I am here looking for what I call a 'Flame', essentially parts of the spirit of the First Hero. These Flames grant extraordinary abilities, like speed, strength, intelligence, excreta. I, however, possess the 'Guardian Flame', the most powerful one. I can sense other flames, and even awaken them, should I choose. But that takes WAY too much energy, and is only a last resort. I only did that once… Anyways, I can sense the presence of a flame inside one of the CPUs, yet I can tell it resonates from all four. This hunt will be tricky, for sure…" Ranger said this in a professional manner, as if this wasn't the first time he had told this story.

"So… any one of the four goddesses could have one of these 'Flames', and that's the reason you agreed to save us?" Nepgear asked. Vert, Noire, and Blanc had begun to stir as Ranger told his story. Neptune was slowly regaining her senses, and, like her younger sister, was listening to Ranger's tale. Continuing, Ranger added:

"It's also a possibility that all four CPU's have a fragment of this flame. Hell, it might be the source of your powers. Or it's at least enhancing them. Then there's the factor of the CPU candates, they can also have flame fragments. If that's the case… may God have mercy on our souls…" Ranger's thought train was interrupted by a sudden fit of coughing from Neptune, who grabbed her throat as she hacked. "Shit! Where is it…come on…" Ranger fumbled through a pouch on his waist, Yelling "Gotcha!" as he protruded a syringe, and said, "Hold still, Nep, this'll take care of that…" Injecting the liquid into Neptune's left arm, and moments later, her coughing subsided, and she seemed to get better too, which Nepgear found shocking. Before she could ask, Ranger stated: "While experimenting, Neptune was tested for immunity to poisons, and worse yet, psycidellic drugs… powerful stuff, but that…" he pointed to the syringe, "is a cure-all."

* * *

Roughly an hour later, the _Swifte Flame_ landed next to Planeptune's Basilicom. Ranger, Nepgear, the four CPUs, who had fully recovered, and Hana, headed to the top to inform Histore of the good news, but none of them were prepared for what they saw… The room looked like a bomb had exploded right in the center, tables broken, the TV smashed, the game consoles were in a pile, and the computers were destroyed.

"What the hell happened!? This place looks like a disaster! wait… where's Histore?" Ranger shouted in surprise. At first, silence, then the wreck that was the sofa shifted, causing the group to rush over to the pile of rubble, overturning a chunk of coffee table, a wounded Histore was found, panting, and her book that she normally sat on was just above her. Panicking, Nepgear asked the tome,

"Histy! What the goodness happened? Are you hurt?" Histore, who thankfully, the girl wasn't injured, just shaken, replied,

"No, I'm alright… Neptune! You're alright! Ranger, I give you my thanks." Ranger chuckled, yet didn't say anything. His gaze darted around the room, and after a short moment, found what he was looking for. In the corner, a small camera, which had been there unknown to Neptune and the others, lay surprisingly undamaged.

"Something you want to say, Vert?" Ranger said, smirking and turning his gaze towards the blonde goddess. Noire asked, braking the silence

"Wait… How do YOU know it was Vert? It could have been anybody!" Everyone looked at Noire, whose face turned bright red, quickly shouting "W-well, I didn't do it! Stop staring at me! It was Vert!" Laughing, Ranger replied calmly,

"No. It was Vert. This camera is a new product of Leanbox tech. It's a spy camera. I've been in this Dimension for only a month, but I know my stuff." Examining the spy camera, Ranger opened a panel, where a plug and button were located. Taking a small cord, he plugged the device to the gauntlet on his left arm. On it, a screen appeared, showing the camera's footage.

After playing back the footage from the last ten minutes, Ranger showed the group the horrendous scene that had unfolded about a half hour ago. It started off bland, IF had returned, and was drinking tea, while chatting with Histore and Compa, when, out of nowhere, a large blast from the huge glass window behind the trio caused the couch to flip over, hitting and burying Histore in it. IF drew her twin blades, and prepared to fight her foe. Dramatically stepping through the smoke, Arfore and the mysterious figure from before appeared, IF tried to attack Arfore, but was subdued by a chain that the other figure summoned with a flick of her styhe, Arfore threw a gas canister, causing IF and Compa to fall unconscious. They were both tied up and taken out of the building. About 15 seconds later, the battery died.

"So… anybody know where that old hag's base is? It will make all our lives easier." Ranger said, unplugging the camera from his gauntlet, and turning the screen off. "We're going to have to find them. Which won't be an easy task." He sighed, glanced around the room, and turned to Hana, who was picking up a magenta pouch, then asked

"Whose is this? It looks like it fell off someone." Two seconds later, Nepgear exclaimed

"That IF's! Oh no… I do hope she's OK…" The group stood there, for a while, and Ranger took the cell phone from the pouch, opened it, and started to look through the contact list.

"What are you doing, Ranger?" Neptune asked, peering over his shoulder, Ranger turned away, and after a few seconds, said

"Looking for one of IF's other phones, when we call it, I'll be able to track it, therefore locating it and, by extension, IF and hopefully Compa too. But I don't know which ones are hers…" Eventually, He came to a list reading: Phone-blue, Phone-Green Etc., and sighed, muttering, "I should have known. I'll call… Blue!" pressing the "Call" button, and put the phone to the side of his head. All were silent, waiting for the ringing to stop. Ranger motioned to Hana, who protruded a cord and tablet, hooked it up to the magenta phone, which Ranger put on speaker-phone. After a moment, the phone clicked, and Arfore was heard saying:

"Who is this?! The girl isn't available, so just call back later!" Before she was able to hang up, Ranger said:

"Oh? You don't want to discuss ransom? I do make a lot of money, ya'know. And I just wanna chat. You and me have a lot in common." Hana's tablet hooked in to the satellite signal, and it began tracking a live image feed, going down to in between Lowee and Planeptune, eventually landing on an eggplant field, Neptune making an "Urk" noise in surprise, Hana shushing her. Continuing the "Conversation" he was having, Ranger finished with

"Yeah, see ya reeeeaaal soon, k? Thanks for the talk. Bye." And hung up. Everyone else was staring at Ranger intently, waiting for someone to speak. Breaking the silence, Ranger said, "Hana, you get some people down here, and get the place fixed up. Repair what you can, and if it's too broken to fix, replace it. Ok?" Hana nodded, and headed down the elevator, Ranger turned to the crowd that was gathered, and said:

"We can't just stand here, Neptune, Nepgear, you two come with me. Noire, Blanc, Vert, you three go to your countries, and get to work. It's been a week, and you were all missed. Especially your sisters." Noire, Blanc, and Vert nodded, and headed down the elevator. Ranger turned to the two CPUs, and said: "Transform. We need to get there, pronto." Neptune went first, glowing, then as Purple Heart, said

"Let's go save Iffy, and slice some eggplants!" Nepgear did the same, and shouted, with a lot of enthusiasm:

"Yeah!" Ranger pressed a button on his gauntlet, and a backpack, with wings and jets, flew into the window. Strapping it on, he said,

"Let's go. We've got no time to waste!" and took off, the two CPUs following him. Histore, who was left, sighed and looked around the rubble. Whispering to herself, she swiftly flew towards another room, saying:

"I do hope the Sharicite isn't damaged…. That would be bad." And opened the door.

* * *

Arriving at the plantation, Neptune, Nepgear, and Ranger prepared themselves for battle.

"The likelihood of this being a trap is skyrocketing, yet I don't expect Arfore to account of my presence. I also wonder if Pirachu is flirting with Compa… Again." Ranger stated, slowing down. When they arrived, Ranger pulled a tab, and the pack ejected from his back, automatically landing itself in a tree nearby. Rolling when he hit the ground, Ranger drew his sword, and charged into the maze of eggplant. Neptune and Nepgear flew into battle, noticing IF on the same stake as the first time, except she was chained, not tied. Arfore, noticing the two goddesses, shouted:

"Well well well. Look who showed up. Came for your friend? TOO BAD! She's MY hostage, if you want her back, come and get her!" Arfore tossed a basket of eggplants, which transformed into horseback riding eggplant lancers. Ranger, on the other hand, simply snuck up towards the hill where Arfore stood. The only person who didn't see him coming was Arfore, who Ranger was waiting to turn away from him, so he could move in. After the old hag turned away, Ranger swiftly rushed up the hill without making a sound. He tapped IF on the shoulder, and quickly put his hand over her mouth when she opened her mouth. Putting a finger to his lips, he handed the girl her cell phone, and stood behind Arfore, deciding how to kill her. Before he had a chance to decide, IF shouted,

"Come on, Nep! It's just some vegetable that this old hag summoned up. Kick their asses!" to which Arfore responded

"Oh… you haven't learned your lesson huh!? I'll shove so many eggplants into your mouth that you'll choke!" Grabbing an eggplant, Arfore quickly turned, and shoved the eggplant into what she THOUGHT was IF's. but it wasn't, IF gasped, and at that moment, Arfore realized just how badly she had messed up. Ranger stood there, the eggplant half in his mouth. He bit the vegetable in half, and spat the part that was in his mouth out. Arfore gulped, Ranger laughing, saying

"Well… NOW you've done it. I do hate veggies, after all. So instead of letting you choose how you wish to die…" His voice turned from calm, yet violent, to pure sadistic, screaming: "I'LL GUT YOU!" and took the sword in his hand, and attacked Arfore, screaming bloody murder as he delivered several nasty blows, his whole body seemed to burn, his blade burned with a blue flame, and the rest of his body burned red. Nepgear was shocked that Arfore was still alive, Ranger dealing out this much damage. As he cut Arfore down to size, the whole eggplant field burned down. IF gaped in amazement, and Neptune, who had found Compa, headed back. Compa was, surprise, surprise, being hit on by Pirachu, of whom was sent flying by one blow by Neptune. On Neptune's back, Compa said, in pure awe:

"Whoa… Ranger is burning the place up! We should save Iffy, Nep-Nep!" Nodding, Neptune flew down to IF, and after some effort, Nepgear and even Compa had to help, were successful at breaking the bonds. IF, shaken by Ranger's sudden outburst, said, quite quickly:

"We… should go. Before we meet the same fate as Arfore…" As she said that, the screaming stopped, all eyes turned to Ranger, who had dropped his sword, staring, motionless, at the burning eggplant field, he turned to the hill, saw the four staring back at him, then did the unexpected. He pressed a button on his Gauntlet, picked up and sheathed his sword, and ran. Away from the hill, and the jetpack shot towards him, he put it on, and flew away at what Nepgear could only assume was top speed. After about 30 seconds, Neptune finally said:

"Let's go. Iffy, Compa, we'll give you two a ride home. I swear…" Picking up If, Nepgear picking up Compa, Neptune said to her little sister: "This guy's on the same level as Sadie. I at least hope that's the only time he does that."

"Yeah" Nepgear responded, and the two CPUs flew towards their homes, carrying the two others on their backs.

* * *

**That took longer than expected…**

**I am testing Double-spaced paragraphs, to see if I like it better. **

**HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hyperdimension Neptunia: the **_**Flame Guardianes**_

**A/N: Sorry for lack of updates, I've been pretty lazy about updates recently, but I'll try to update every or every other week. But please enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 5:**

**The Battle of Lowee**

* * *

It had been nearly a week since the rescue at the eggplant field, and while the room had been fixed up, there was one thing that still was on Nepgear's mind…

Why was Ranger not talking to them?

It wasn't like the silent treatment, he literally wasn't even showing his face, he was just holed up in his room on the _Swifte Flame_, not even answering when Nepgear knocked, and it really worried her. Neptune was optimistic, as always, saying that he'll break out of his shell, and Histore said that maybe he has more pressing matters to attend to, but she wasn't sure.

Nepgear knew better.

Obviously, it was his sudden burst of anger and violence, he seemed like that wasn't ever supposed to happen, and Nepgear knew it. Just the fact it happened was enough to make that all she could think about, and it gnawed at her. Nepgear finally decided to ask Hana why he was acting that way.

"Never really thought about it, but I'm sure he's fine." Hana said,

"Though I think he's upset, he doesn't want to talk to anyone, and I'm the only one allowed in his quarters now… I'm worried." She then patted Nepgear on the head, and continued on her business.

Today was the day. Today, Nepgear had the day off, so she decided to see just what was up with Ranger (she was surprised Neptune hadn't already) and see if she could help. Walking down the maze of halls and chambers that was the _Swifte Flame_, finally arriving at the reinforced double doors that led to Ranger's quarters. Gathering all her courage, she heaved, and pushed open the doors, which were, for some reason, unlocked. Stepping through, the first thing she noticed was the lights were off, the second thing, was the desk that Ranger sat at, his back turned to her.

"Um… hi?" Nepgear said, not knowing what to do, she started to walk forward, about 3 feet, when Ranger spoke, his voice coarse and rough:

"So, you came. I unlocked the door for you, since you were so intent on speaking to me." The room smelled of sweat, and the air was thick and heavy. The stuffiness of the room made Nepgear almost gag. On one of the walls, large slabs of pegboard were hung, displaying weapons, mostly guns and knives, along with some assorted tactical items as well.

"G-goodness, I was so worried about you, I wanted to check on you and see if you were-" Nepgear was cut off when ranger said, rather aggressively,

"And why do you care? Why does anyone care? You saw what I'm truly like, so go on. Say it. I'm a monster, I'm insane. SAY IT!" Shouting the last part, Ranger turned, and stared Nepgear in the eyes.

Normally, all of Nepgear's composure would have been lost at him shouting, but something kept her from giving in. She was here on a mission. And she would succeed, no matter what.

"No! You've been acting weird, and I want to know why! I won't leave until you tell me the truth!" This… surprised Ranger, whose expression shifted, before erupting into a burst of anger.

"You want to know the truth? Fine. Here's the truth!" Slamming the knife he was holding into the desk in front of him, the blade sticking into the surface about a millimeter, and Ranger standing up and began pacing.

"I've been like this for 12. FUCKIN'. Years. Nobody cred, I just… I guess I couldn't take it anymore. I almost… snapped. I lost my mind, and thank god Hana was there, or I would've probably killed innocent people." He looked at Nepgear, his eyes glazed over,

"You know what? Just go. Just. GO. I'll be… fine. You have more important things to worry about than some sad, fucked up excuse for a man". Nepgear stood there, then turned around and began walking out of the room. Just before she closed the door, she looked over her shoulder, and said

"I'm worried about you, and I care about you. No matter what".

And at that, she gently closed the door.

* * *

When Nepgear exited the _Swifte Flame_, Neptune, in her CPU form, was waiting for her.

"Neptune? What's this all about?" Nepgear asked

"Blanc called. Lowee is under attack, and she requested the help of the other CPUs." Neptune began to fly away, but noticed Nepgear's sudden change of expression.

"Nep J.R.? What's wrong?" Neptune asked, hovering back to her younger sister.

"Sis… he… he's not gonna help." Nepgear began crying as she said this, looking back at the massive vessel.

"No need to feel sorry, Nep J.R., there's a lot of things that are out of your control. This is one of them. Don't worry. He'll come to soon enough." Upon hearing that, Nepgear nodded, and then transformed, flying away with her sister.

Though both CPUs never saw this coming.

* * *

Downtown Lowee was a full-blown warzone, homes were set ablaze, and a solid cloud of smoke rose from the city. As Nepgear, Neptune, Noire, Uni, and Vert flew at full speed towards the war-torn country.

"Seems like we're just in time to the party." Noire said, looking down at the lines. The battle lines were formed in rings around the Basilicom, the residential area, and the downtown area, the outer ring, downtown, was where most of the fighting was.

"It seems that we should aid the outer ring, as that is seeing the most resistance." Vert commented.

"I agree, but I feel like we should find Blanc, and work from there." Neptune said looking down at the second ring. Then two figures came rushing up towards the 5 CPUs.

"Rom! Ram!" Nepgear and Uni shouted, almost in sync.

"Hey guys! You're just in time!" Ram shouted.

"Just in time…" the shyer, quieter Rom repeated. The two were fighting off any attackers from the air, as there were a few monsters that were coming from the air.

"The front line needs the most help, so go help them take town those dummies!" Ram shouted, acting tough, yet she and Rom were on air patrol, which was kind of demeaning for CPUs. As the quintet of goddesses went to aid the front line, the commander of the line shouted

"The front line is down! Fall back and aid mid line! Go go go!" At this point, it was a free-for-all battle to the second line. All hell broke loose, soldiers dashing to the line behind them, and opposing monsters and soldiers raising hell, burning every shop they could find.

"We should aid the second line, they're going to need the most help." Nepgear stated as the second line began defending.

"Agreed" Neptune said, as the CPUs began executing as many monsters as they could.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at Planeptune's Basilicom, Compa, IF, and Histore were watching the news at the second line.

"As you can see, the monster incursion has worsened, and we have no way of telling how this will play out. However, the other CPUs have arrived to support. However, we don't know anything else at the moment. Back to you." The news then switched to weather, and a conversation broke out.

"Do you think Nep-Nep and the others will be enough?" Compa asked, nervously.

"I hope so, the guild in Lowee said that all available agents are aiding the inner ring, outside the Basilicom." IF said, checking one of her many phones. As she finished speaking, the room began to shake.

"A tremor!?" IF screamed

"No. Planeptune doesn't even have earthquakes, so there must be another explanation for this" Histore said in her usual, tuxedo way of speaking.

"So… what IS happening?" IF asked. Before anybody could answer, the _Swifte Flame_ appeared at the window, hovered for a second, then turned, and blasted off towards Lowee, and cloaked after getting a reasonable distance from the Basilicom. As that happened, the news turned back to the battle, the reporter saying, rather worriedly,

"The situation has worsened, as there are now what appears to be fighter jets dropping fire bombs, and there seems to be no way to stop them. This may be our darkest hour." As the news feed was cut off by static interference, IF turned towards the battle and said

"Hang in there Nep. Help is on the way."

* * *

Back at the battlefield, Nepgear and the other CPUs fought with all their strength, energy, and valor, yet soldiers and monsters kept approaching, getting tougher and tougher.

"Man, we're not making any progress, these things keep coming!" Noire shouted to the others, annoyed. She was right. There seemed to be no end to the swarm that presented itself to the line of warriors.

"LOOK OUT!" one of the soldiers cried, pointing up. Sure enough, there was a fighter jet, heading straight for the CPUs.

"Oh shi-" was all that could come out of Vert's mouth before she was struck with a rocket from the attacker. As the green-haired CPU flew away, another jet came in for a strafe run, firing missiles, each time getting closer, and closer to the goddesses.

Just as it was about to hit the CPUs, the jet's wing exploded, and came crashing down, landing behind its target. Looking up, all of the other jets met the same fate, exploding mid-air. After a second, the _Swifte Flame_ ant its fleet of VTOL warships appeared, deactivating their optical camouflage. The VTOL closest to the goddesses opened its side door as it descended to meet them. Inside was Ranger and a group of soldiers.

"Ranger… you came." Nepgear said, tears of joy starting to appear in her eyes.

"Ha-ha. You thought I would leave you for dead, my friend?" Ranger yelled over the roar of the VTOL's jets. Ranger, along with the soldiers, jumped out of their warship. H then turned to the CPUs and said

"We must get to the Basilicom. This battle is a diversion. Someone or something is after Lowee's Sharicite, and it's up to us to stop them." Turning to the squad behind him, he began speaking,

"This is Z.E.D. Alpha 1 team. These are the best of the best… of the best. The greatest soldiers in the world." Looking back at the CPUs, he told the squad

"The CPUs are your superiors, and their orders are final. Unless I say so, of course." Speaking to the group as a whole, he half-shouted

"Now let's kick ass!" the soldiers let out a "U-RA!" in unison and charged, with Ranger, towards the Basilicom. Shrugging, the CPUs following after, Neptune picking up Vert along the way. Pushing back to the Basilicom, Ranger slowed down, allowing Nepgear to catch up.

"I thought about what you said." Ranger said to Nepgear. "And I realized there's no reason to hide. It was… an off day for me. I promise, I won't do stupid shit like that again."

"Apology accepted." Nepgear said, smiling. They arrived at the door, and Ranger opened the door, motioning for the others to follow. The group had been walking for about 30 seconds, when Ranger grabbed his walkie-talkie, and so it

"Blanc, where's Mina? And where are you?" A few seconds passed, then the radio began to emit static, then Blanc said, over the radio,

"The room with the Sharicite. Some asshole is trying to get in here. Where are you guys?" Blanc sounded more than annoyed, and banging was heard.

"We're inside the Basilicom. Where is the Sharicite?" Ranger asked. At this point, the banging was audible from where the team was. And, over the radio, Blanc said, rather quickly

"In the conference room. There's a room behind the screen." After Blanc said that, a loud boom was heard, and Ranger shouted

"Blanc's in trouble, let's move!" And the entire team rushed towards the conference room. Upon kicking the door open, the team was met with heavy fire from enemy soldiers. Ducking behind a tipped over table, Ranger shouted:

"Take them out! Shoot to kill! Nepgear, with me!" and the team opened fire. Nepgear, following Ranger to the hidden door, or rather, hole, as it had been breached by C4. Inside the room, a man stood over Blanc, who was knocked unconscious by the blast. He held a syringe, hooked up to some device, and was about to pierce Blanc. Drawing his sword, Ranger charged forward, and sliced the device and syringe in half, and turned to face his opponent. The man pulled out a sizeable machete, and the two began fighting. Nepgear aided Ranger, shooting the man in the back, causing him to drop the machete. However, he instead pulled a strange looking gun, and shot Ranger with it. The gun was a "Pulse Gun" as it shot out a wave, throwing Ranger back, right onto the Sharicite. He then turned around, and shot Nepgear, throwing her onto her back. He then pulled a more traditional gun, a revolver and put it to Nepgear's head.

Ranger, who had dropped his sword, with his right arm stuck on the still floating Sharicite, which was rotating and acting like a drill, slowly digging into his shoulder. He pulled his magnum pistol out, and was aiming it at this man, who now had stood up, and shouted at Nepgear

"CPUs… YOUR KIND. IS. FINISHED!" and then, a gunshot was heard. Nepgear closed her eyes, awaiting her fate. The sound of a body hitting the floor was heard, and Nepgear opened her eyes. The man was dead, a hole in the back of his head. Looking up, Nepgear saw Ranger on the Sharicite, and quickly rushed towards him, pulling the warrior off the crystal. Within seconds, the blood on Lowee's Sharicite has evaporated, leaving no trace. Ranger picked up his gun and sword. He sheathed them, and walked towards the corpse in front of him. At that point, the team and other CPUs had finished off the enemy, and had walked into the room. The first thing Noire did was check on Blanc, who had woken up.

"Asshole had it comin'" Blanc said, Looking at the dead body. One of the soldiers had checked the corpse for anything useful. Another picked up the device that the man was going to use on Blanc. The soldier checking the corpse said

"I found a phone, there are several messages relayed on it."

"Good" Ranger said, one of the soldiers patching up the massive wound on Ranger's shoulder. The group then left the Basilicom, the battle won for today.

* * *

Back at Planeptune's Basilicom, the news was doing a report on the battle.

"The assault on the nation of Lowee has ended, all soldiers retreated out of the nation, after the group, as we now known is called the _Flame Guardianes_, has saved us. Now, back to the station." The trio watching celebrated the victory, knowing that an entire nation was just saved.

However, no human, CPU, or _Flame Guardiane_ could ever know what lay ahead of them. As nothing could prepare them for what they were about to find out.

* * *

**That was easily the longest chapter I have ever done. I apologize for the lack of updates. I start the "Three Days of Insanity tomorrow, so there will be little to no writing for me, so hopefully I get another chapter in before school starts back up.**

** Until next time!**


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